I asked our AI friends – What are the pros and cons of replacing FDA Commissioner Makary with me – here is the response? This is a very timely question — Makary resigned as FDA Commissioner today, May 12, 2026, amid reports of internal tensions and policy clashes, with the vaping dispute reportedly being a […]
Not surprisingly, Jeff Gold of AP reported this morning: Topps closes 6 days after the second-largest U.S. beef recall The company at the center of the nation’s second-largest beef recall in U.S. history is closing its doors. Elizabeth-based Topps Meat Company, which was founded in 1940, has recalled almost 22 (M) million pounds of its […]
Kiawana Rich of the Staten Island Advance reported that Robert Bloom, 19, of Willowbrook and Brianna DiMartini, 12, of Great Kills both were sickened after eating hamburger from Topps. In addition, the New York Health Department confirmed that Brianna’s mom, Allison, also was hit by E. coli poisoning, One wonders if Topps will make it?
Dr. Richard Raymond, Under Secretary for Food Safety, FSIS is the fellow in charge with keeping cow poop out of your hamburger. However, press reports today seems to indicate that the good Doctor was asleep at the switch (knew for 18 days before they told anyone), or perhaps too busy telling us all that “the […]
Stephen J. Hedges of the Washington Bureau of the Chicago Tribune broke a very disturbing story this evening that is unfortunately far to common – the USDA and FSIS are more concerned about pleasing the Corporations they are supposed to inspect than in protecting the public from a known danger and deadly killer – E. […]
Several state health departments, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. On September 29, USDA issued a notice about a recall of 21.7 millions pounds of frozen ground beef patties. Health officials in several states who were investigating […]
As the U.S. media generally is focused on the Topps E. coli recall, Dick Kaukas, reporter for the Courier Journal has become “Mr. E. coli” over the last week covering what is arguably a far more tragic story. Floyd County confirms two more E. coli cases – 10 now linked to outbreak at school As […]
Erin Billups of Capital News 9 did a great interview of our clients last night. The full interview and video can be found by clicking on the logo above. Some of the best quotes are below: “It was a typical, last day of summer camp — water balloons, face painting, cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Didn’t […]
UPI International has continued to follow the story of the second largest meat recall in U.S. history. U.S. experts said the recall of frozen hamburger meat that may have been contaminated by E. coli is likely to create concerns of rising E. coli outbreaks. Last week’s recall of 21.7 million pounds of Topps Meat frozen […]
Staten Island Advance reported this morning: Parents: Tainted hamburger sickened our daughter A 12-year-old Great Kills girl has been hospitalized on Staten Island for E. coli poisoning and her parents are convinced she became sick after eating a helping of recalled hamburger meat. Brianna DiMartini, 12, is in the pediatric intensive care unit of Staten […]
Peter Lattman – who blogs more than I do is at it again: E. coli Outbreak Inspires Vanity-Plate Naming Contest The nation’s meat supply is “the safest in the world,” a U.S. agriculture official said today, seeking to reassure consumers following the recall of 21.7 million pounds of ground beef by Topps Meat that may […]
Elizabeth Weise and Steve Sternberg of USA TODAY wrote a few moments ago: Company Expands Hamburger Recall Topps Meat Company has expanded a recall of frozen hamburgers to 21.7 million pounds of patties because they may be contaminated with a deadly type of E. coli, making it the second-largest ground beef recall in U.S. history. […]
Impero Food and Meats, Inc. is voluntarily recalling about 65 pounds of ground beef products because it may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The company’s president said the meat was distributed to five pizza restaurants in the Maryland area. The company also says the E. coli was found through routine sampling. Impero Food & […]
Bill Marler, food safety advocate and E. coli attorney, whose Seattle law firm, Marler Clark, has been contacted by five victims of the E. coli outbreak traced to the Topps 21,700,000 pound hamburger recall, called today on Topps to pay the medical bills and lost wages of all individuals who became ill with E. coli […]
Earlier this year J. Patrick Boyle, President and Chief Executive of the American Meat Institute, wrote in part in the New York Times: “Since 1999, the incidence of E. coli in ground beef samples tested by the Agriculture Department has declined by 80 percent to a fraction of a percent, a level once thought impossible.” […]
In June in an Op-ed I warned about the increasing recalls and illnesses tied to E. coli-tainted hamburger and red meat. Now, according to a press release by Topps: Topps Meat Company LLC, located in Elizabeth, NJ, has voluntarily expanded its recall announced on September 25 to include 21.7 million pounds of ground beef products […]